Police in Edinburgh appeal for witnesses after cyclist killed in collision involving lorry

Police in Edinburgh are appealing for witnesses after a cyclist was killed during yesterday morning’s rush hour. The fatal incident happened when the rider struck a blue Mazda car that was parked on Lanark Road at around 8am. Reports suggest that the cyclist hit the car after being struck by an overtaking lorry.

The 43-year-old male rider, who has not yet been named, was taken to Edinburgh Royal Infirmary where he died of his injuries sustained in the incident, which took place as he rode downhill near the junction of Lanark Road and Dovecot Grove in Colinton.

The lorry involved in the incident did not stop at the scene, although the driver was later traced by police, who said they were not treating the incident as a hit and run.

They did, however, confirm that a man, reported by The Scotsman to be the driver of the lorry, had been detained for questioning.

A spokesman for Lothian and Borders Police said: "At this time inquiries are at an early stage, however it is known that the cyclist collided with a parked car.

"Further inquiries are underway in regard to the involvement of other vehicles, and a man has been detained for questioning by police in regard to the incident.

"We would urge anyone who was in the area of Lanark Road this morning, who saw what happened, to contact police as a matter of urgency.

"In particular, we want to speak to anyone who noticed an articulated lorry with a white cab and a red flat-bed trailer being driven in the area at the time.

A local resident told The Scotsman: “There is a huge amount of traffic on this road in the morning and it always goes too fast. You need an accident like this to realise the speed limit needs to be brought down from 40mph to 30mph. It was horrific.”

But Grace Hughes, secretary of Longstone Community Council, on whose area the incident took place, expressed surprise that an incident there could have fatal consequences.

“I heard about the accident this morning and was quite surprised to hear it was a fatality as it is a pretty wide road and accidents are very unusual there,” she said.

“It’s a busy road as it is the main one into the city through the area, but you don’t see accidents like this very often.”

Labour councillor Ricky Henderson, who represents Pentland Hills on Edinburgh City Council pointed out however that the road sees high volumes of commuter traffic.

“It’s a really busy road which is used by so many people to come into the city from areas like Colinton, Balerno and Juniper Green, as well as people coming off the City Bypass,” he explained.

“It’s obviously been a very tragic outcome and my thoughts are with the family of the victim. It’s very important that the full circumstances are established and I would urge anyone who has seen it happen to come forward.”

Anyone with information regarding the incident is asked to call Lothian and Borders Police on 0131 311 3131.